In the aforementioned application there is disclosed a positive pressure dough divider comprising a hopper for dough, and a pair of rotatable sheeting rolls which carry the dough from the hopper into a transfer passage leading to a volumetric measuring chamber inside a rotating body which is adapted to stop, or rotate for periods of reduced speed, such that, whilst the measuring chamber is being charged with dough from the rolls, a maximum possible charging time is provided, and to move at greater speeds at other times to provide minimum possible delay between charging generations. The rolls are of a sufficiently large diameter, and rotate in opposite directions at such a speed, as to produce or maintain a dough of good gas retaining properties whilst providing a positive pressure rise along the direction of flow in the passage between the rolls sufficient to charge the measuring chamber or chambers. In addition, in order to prevent or minimise leakage at the sides of the rolls in the direction of the roll axes, barriers are provided which slope outwardly away from the direction of the dough flow between the rolls and which follow the circumferential surface of the rolls and are machined to have a safe working clearance from the rolls.
Such a dough divider has proved to be particularly successful with regard to accuracy when compared with conventional types of knife and ram reciprocating dividers by preventing the ingress of air and other undesirable materials, whilst minimising damage to the dough and inferior bread quality.
However, when operating with some types of dough, slices of the resulting bread have exhibited a visible deterioration in texture, such as, in some cases a visible swirl in the texture of slices which deterioration is regarded by the bread industry as disadvantageous.
It has been determined by testing and analysis of the divider operation that the above problem is associated with temperature rise in a proportion of the dough passing through the divider and resulting from the mechanical work performed in effecting the required pressure rise through the sheeting rolls. The major portion of the work performed on the dough occurs in the passage defined from the top of the rolls, down between the rolls and through the transfer passage.